Just Another Day at the Office

 

“I cleared my throat behind him. “Sorry to disturb you while your eating…” He lifted hi head to look at me, thick viscous liquid dripped down his chin and he drew back his top lip and snarled at me. Any normal, sane person would have legged it by now. Not me, I’d seen my share of vampires and this child didn’t even make me flinch. I think I sighed, that admittance of apathy seemed to make him take a proper look at me. I don’t know what it was that made him bolt. Maybe it was the stakes strapped to my belt or the bow at my back. Or ,maybe new vamps just get a mug shot with the words crazy bitch stamped across it. Either way he ran. When vamps start running that usually my que to start blindly firing in their direction. Most vampires have super speed so me chasing is a waste of energy but like I said, this guy was new. So I pursued.

 

He’d just rounded the corner of the underpath and was up the stairs toWaterloo. Not after all this, not now I couldn’t let him get on a train.Waterloostation at midnight is pretty quiet on a week day, luckily for me it was Saturday. I dodged crowds of people waiting for the last train. I actually knocked an old man over with no time to apologise I got a few choice words shouted at my back. Where was he? I’d lost him. Shit. I needed height I needed to see over these people. I scanned the crowd for a bench, a trolley anything with enough height to give me a shot. There was an information stand in the middle of the station. I ran over to it and managed somewhat ungracefully to hoist myself on top. I looked around my eyes darting to every face, every back of head, everyone else.

 

There the bastard was. He was heading for the Jubilee Line. I had a clear shot. I pulled my bow out of its sheaf and readied an arrow. I took aim. The whole world slowed. I could hear my heart in my ears and I breathed slowly. I cleared my mind, everyone else disappeared. I aimed for his heart through his back. I breathed again trusting in my training, trusting in myself, trusting in my goal. I released the arrow. It soared through the crowd and sunk home into the back of his cape. He turned, stunned, I could see the whites of his eyes. His mouth was open but no noise came out. He was clutching his chest. The arrow head protruding neatly out of hid chest. Jackpot. Then from the outside of the puncture wound his skin and clothing began to crinkle and curl, smoke billowed out in thin grey ribbons. Then just as quickly as it had started it spread licking all over his body engulfing him until a man of fire stood in his place. Then the entire special of it all imploded. Sucked into oblivion as if he never existed. All vamps go their own way but the end results is the same. They’re very considerate that way. No body. No evidence makes my life easier. ”

 

Copywright Karla Mouncey-Jaggers

Any Editors Out There?

I am finding the editing process so painfully boring!! I find myself dreading sitting down and going through the gramma and sentence structure. There are much more exciting ideas and stories out there. I have decided I would like to find an Editor. Someone I can pay to go over all the niggaly bits that I hate.

Can anyone recommend someone affordable? I would much rather go from someones recommendation than a random google search.

Blood is Thicker Than Water

“I instinctively reached for my rucksack and then realised I had left it upstairs I searched around the room for anything wooden to use a stake. There was a pool table at the back of the bar, I would have to put a lot of strength into my blow but it would do. Vampires are so allergic to wood that as soon as I broke the skin it would sink easily into his heart like any sharpened stake. I ran to the table picked up the stake and then turned back to Ralph. Ben was standing next to the big vampire and although his voice wasn’t raised I could hear everything he was saying. “Brass put Ralph down now. You have about forty seconds until he dies and if you let that happen I will not be able to save you” Brass grunted but didn’t let go. Every other vampire in the room seemed alert and ready to strike. I didn’t care what he was saying my brother was choking to death. I ran towards them and raised the pool cue in the air to get more momentum into my blow.

Ben looked at me with a stern expression and I don’t know what made me trust him but I slowed my strike a little. I put the tip of the cue on the vampire’s skin and pushed slightly I felt him go ridged. “Let go or I put this threw your heart”. He turned his head slightly to me and spoke in a voice like he had just smoked a million cigarettes and downed a pint of whisky. “I will snap his neck before you can kill me” I knew what he said was true but I also knew that Ralph had just fallen into unconsciousness. I started to panic and panic made me not think straight. My only thought was that I needed to distract him, get him off of Ralph in the next ten seconds. I did a stupid thing I smashed my hand down onto an empty glass on the bar. I felt the glass bite into my hand and hot liquid seep down my fingers. Brass’ attention immediately switched to my hand and he let go of Ralph. I watched Ralph take a deep breath and knew I didn’t care what happened next.”

New Years Goals

So Christmas is upon us! This is the time of New Year’s resolutions and thinking back over the year. This year I have been very proud to have written two first drafts of the Olivia Everett series as well as much short and flash fiction. I also completed NaNoWriMo for the first time, and after having had a short comedy sketch commission by The Peryls I now consider myself a freelance writer. My new years resolution or new years goals (it seems the very phrase ‘new years resolution’ is code for ‘will not succeed’) for 2012 will mostly be related to writing.
1. To complete the redraft of the Olivia Everett books
2. To submit the finished novel to at least one agent
3. To have something published in any form i.e internet magazine, writing website, anthology, newspaper etc.
4. To have one of my plays put on (or at least rehearsed read)
5. To blog at least once a week
6. To complete Script Frezy in April
7. To complete NaNoWriMo in November
I plan to look back at this post once at least month to make sure I am keeping up with my goals and to keep up with my blogging in a much better way that I have the past few weeks. I would like to ask any people out there if they would like any short stories commissioned. I feel I work well with a brief for my fiction and welcome any suggestions.
Wishing all those reading a fantastic Chrsitmas and New Year and may Yuletide blessings shower on all of you.

An Extract From Part Two

“It was very dark in here, there was music playing but not too loud and it looked like there were a few levels. I didn’t know where to start looking for Ben, there were buckets of beer and champagne scattered around the room for anyone to take. There was also a bar at the back of the room which looked to be serving food I couldn’t make out what it was and the someone walked past me with a bacon sandwich. My stomach growled at me, I headed to the bar and took a sandwich, I started eating it and tried to think of a way to find Ben in this three story mess. A dribble of ketchup ran down my chin and I reached up to dab it away when I felt someone do it for me. I looked up to see Benidict, Arch Vampire of London licking ketchup off his finger the symbolism of the scarlet liquid was striking.

“Hello Ben” I said looking into his eyes, I knew he couldn’t Gaze me with my Nan’s pentacle tucked in my shirt. “Livy” he responded extending his hand to help me up. I stood up with out his help he tutted “What is the great emergency?” “How did you know I was here?” I asked him. His face became conflicted “I am torn in how to answer that” I sighed the mind games had started already “Just answer the question Ben” he continued. “I smelled you Livy, I can smell you coming a mile off, I am drawn to your particular scent” he took a deep breath in through his nose for emphasis. I shuddered, I had to ask. “Can we go someone where more quiet? I don’t really want to be competing with this noise” I gestured around me. He nodded and walked forward, I followed him up the stairs and through a door to the back of the room. The noise behind me muffled and the lights had become brighter, he led me to a white door marked staff only and went through.

We walked into an office, there was a man with long hair snorting cocaine off of a desk, the sign on the desk read bar manager but I was betting this wasn’t him. The man stood up defensively, I felt the tickle of Gaze and heard Ben “Leave us” the man obliged and walked out swiftly. Ben pulled up a chair for me and leant against the desk so that I was lower than him, I doubted that it was an accident.

He looked down at me and now that we were alone I started to feel nervous and to be honest a little weirded out about the fact that I had kissed another man earlier. I didn’t own Ben anything we weren’t together and I had no intention of dating a dead man but there was sense of betrayal being around him. “You seem nervous Liv, more so than usual” why could he read my emotions so well, I put my hand into my pocket and pulled out the note. I went to hand it to him but when my fingers touched his the coldness of them made me jump and I dropped the note. I bent to pick it up and whacked my head on his knee, he laughed above me, a low chuckle. I fixed him with a glare “Shut up” I mumbled this made him laugh more. I thrust the note at him and he took it still smiling and began to unfold it. I saw him read it and then read it again, his face had become serious and he placed the note gently beside him on the desk.”

NaNoWriMo Winner!!

This is just a small post to say that I just completed NaNoWriMo!!

Expect much more blogs and excerpts from the new book to follow soon!

NaNoWriMo and Talking with Kate

Firstly I want to apologise for my lack of blogs for the past few weeks! I have been spending all my spare time getting my wordcount for NaNoWriMo!

In have just hit 35k so I now feel far enough over the halfway mark to start blogging again! NaNo has been an amazing experience, I have learnt so many new skills! Firstly my typing has increased in speed I am finding that I can get at least 2000 words in two hours which is a big improvement. I am also discovering the joy of letting my characters do all the work!

I start with an idea or event that needs to happen and then I introduce it to Olivia to see how she deals with it. I have been overwhelmed with my imagination and I’m slightly worried that Olivia may actually be living in my head! 😉

Beside NaNo the last few weeks have also been very productive writingwise due in large part to an amazing friend. She pushed me to send my first three chapter to Kate a friend of hers who is published in three countries! I took the plunge and sent her the chapters. She took a while to respond which I thought meant she never would.

Last week I had accepted that she didn’t like the chapters and put it from my mind. Then I got an email back. I was shaking as opened it. I was convinced she was going to tell to give up. I couldn’t be more wrong. She really enjoyed my writing and wanted to talk to me in person.

After two hours of amazing conversation with Kate (in which I took five pages of notes) my head was spinning. She told me that she loved my writing style and I had a real chance of getting published. She said I need to finish my first draft. Get it as perfect as possible and when I’m ready she will help me get on the right track!

This has been an amazing month and once I finish my NaNo novel it will be my best ever writing month!

The Beginning of Book Two

a short excerpt from the beginning of book 2

 

“It had taken me three hours and five dresses to decide that I was gong to cancel my date with Ant. We had been out two times before so I wasn’t nervous about the first time but the last time we had gone to the cinema to watch some slasher flick he had held my hand. It made me realise I wasn’t ready to be seeing anyone else, the blood and guts on screen didn’t bother me, I saw enough to know the blood was too red, the bones to pale and the screams too forced”

Paul

“I approached Paul’s studio and knocked on the door with a sign that read replica weapons by appointment only. He opened it as if he he’d been waiting for me on the other side.

“Hi Paul” I greeted him walking inside

“Hello” he said immediately closing the door behind me. He never shook my hand or looked me in the eye.

His studio was more a workshop. It was a small room no wider that a train carriage but it must hve held thousands of projects.  At twenty two but he had been making replica weapons for ten years. I’d met him in an obscure forum for vampire conspiracy theorists  I rarely participated in blogs but I always kept my eyes open for anyone with genuine insight or skill. He had posted a thread about the similarities of London’s vampires to George Orwell’s 1984. Very intelligent boy but with the social skills of a pencil. His user name had a link to his website and two years on he was still my weapons man.

I handed Paul my broken bow and he took it tutting and focusing on the bow never on my face. Paul hadn’t filled out yet he still looked like a sixteen year old. He was taller than me but that wasn’t hard. His hair looked brushed and he wore Harry Potter style glasses. He always wore a logo t-shirt today it said Mass Effect what ever that was. He handed me a new bow which was an exact copy of my broken one. He never added new specs unless I asked for them and even then he had to copy a design. I think my bow was originally a replica of Paris’s bow fromTroy. He was brilliant at replicas but as far as I knew had never created anything original.

 

“You made this fast” I commented

“It was time” he said whilst examining the broken bow under a magnifying glass the size of diner plate.

“Time?”  I questioned

“Usually a bow only lasts four months with you, its been three months and twenty-five days” I laughed

“So you already had it made?”

“I know your patterns Liv” he flicked his eyes to me

“Thank you Paul” I genuinely meant that, I sat down on his sofa which seemed unused. My arm was beginning to throb and my neck ached.

“Your bleeding” he said and I looked at my hand where I’d touched my neck there was a dot of blood on it.

 

“Shit. Paul do you have a first aid kit?” he moved quickly under his desk and returned with a green box that was untouched, shop brought ready made. “Did your Mum make you buy this?”

“Yes” he smiled. I found a square of gauze with sticky on the sides and removed it from the box. I reached up and removed the bandage from my neck, the air hit the wound and I took a sharp intake of breath. Paul was suddenly sitting on the couch next to me. He was staring at the wound intently.

“You ok Paul?” I asked

“Yes” he responded eyes not leaving my neck.

“Why are you staring?” I asked being more direct with him

“Am I being rude?” he asked “I’ve never seen a real wound before, not in real life”

I understood, he played games of war for hours and watched filmic blood and guts everyday but he’d never come close to the reality of it. “How did it happen?” he asked.

“Animal bite” my automatic response, it was really starting to sting so I covered it with the gauze and stood up. Paul stood with me “Thanks for this” I motioned to the bow

“No problem” he went back to his desk as I let myself out there was something off about Paul and I hoped it wasn’t as malevolent as that last encounter had felt.”

 

The Darkness Within

WARNING : CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND TORTURE

“Inside there was a small male vampire, he looked about fifteen but he could have been fifteen hundred. He looked at me with eyes wide and calculating and then he was going for the window. I shot him in the shoulder and pinned him to the wall, to my satisfaction he cried out. I hadn’t missed, I wanted him alive, for now.  I fired again hitting him in the other shoulder, he was stuck there with both shoulders raised slighty like he was on a coat hanger. He flailed violently kicking his legs like an injured insect trying to crawl away. His mouth, neck and chest were covered in dried brown blood. I fired again into each leg and he jerked with both shots and then was still. Only his eyes moved following me as I moved towards him. “Bitch” he spat at me.

I calmed myself, pushed the anger and sickness down and buried it away. There would be time to deal with it later. Catch the killers. Kill the vampires. Stop this ever happening again. I’d cry later. I was in front of him now and his eyes were fixed on mine, if looks could kill. I stared into his eyes and let the hatred I felt for him fill my pupils. I reached for my phone and set it to record then I balanced it on the desk making sure it caught the vampire on film. He was eyeing the camera worriedly as he began to struggle again, pushing at the arrows and causing fresh blood to pour to the floor it was borrowed children’s blood.

 I pulled a syringe of garlic out of my belt and stabbed him in the neck with it. He flinched and then his head lolled forward like a drunk. I picked up a paper weight from the desk it was made of a heavy polished wood, maybe mahogany. I hit him across the face with it. Using my whole body to get maximum impact I pulled my arm back and hit him again. His head jerked with the force of it and he spat blood to the floor.

“Where is Vane?” I asked my voice didn’t sound how I felt, it came out low and controlled.

“Who?” he slurred. I hit him again.

“Where is Vane?” I repeated.

“Fuck you” he spat at me his blood flecked around his mouth. I dropped the paperweight and took a stake from my belt and for the first time he looked frightened. I stabbed him in the hand.

“Where is Vane?” My voice had risen in pitch and he screamed into my face like a pig. He didn’t respond this time, he looked down and took a long deep breath and then he fixed my with determined eyes and whispered.

“I’m more afraid of him than you” I smiled, slow and meaningful, I felt my body grow cold like stone. I took two stakes I stuck one in his other hand and the other in his stomach, I crucified the fucker.

“Tower Hill” he screamed through gritted teeth.

“How many vampires does he have?”

“About a hundred” he was crying, thick red tears, he’d cracked like an egg.

“Where in Tower Hill?” I asked

“Just fucking kill me” he shouted at me “I’m dead anyway”

“Where?” I shouted back at him twisting the stake in his stomach.

 He spat blood at me and I had a flash back, my spit on Mal’s  face and his tongue darting to lick it off it, was another real life memory and I could feel my neck aching. I turned away from the vampire and regained my breath whilst I leaned on the desk. What was I doing? I was torturing someone, had I become the villain? The de-human? This was wrong but I needed to find Vane because I had to stop this. I turned back to the vampire who was staring at me and breathing fast threw his nose. I had an idea. I went close to him almost nose to nose. I couldn’t tell he was weak , he looked stoned from the garlic and the blood loss. 

“What is the address?” I said slowly and he tried to shake his head. I leant to the side exposing Mal’s bite to him and he made a small whimper, I scratched the bite and took a sharp intake of breath as the wound opened and I was bleeding. I knew he would be famished because of the blood pouring out of him, “What is the address?” I whispered, my voice was shaking I was scared but I was determined. I could feel a drop of blood snake its way down my neck as I looked into his eyes to see his pupils dilate. He was staring at my neck and his mouth was half parted in an almost coital expression. “Address?” I moved away from him and he moaned like a kicked puppy and he began to struggle against the stakes. I moved closer again and he whispered “He’s under the tower” 

I felt elated but I needed to find Vane because I had to stop this. I turned back to the vampire who was staring at me and breathing fast threw his nose.  I had to get to Ben, to get back up and then get to Vane before morning. I went to leave lost in my thoughts I’d forgotten the vampire who growled at me. I turned back and pulled the stake out of his stomach and pushed it deep into his heart. Blood fountained our over my hand and arm then he screamed the sound of a dying man. I picked up my phone and walked out of the room to the sounds of a vampire dying in agony. It was a comforting sound as I wound my way threw the rows and rows of dead children.”